The Vancouver park board will continue a public meeting tonight to discuss whether whales and dolphins should continue to be a part of the Vancouver Aquarium.
The meeting began July 26. Hundreds of people have signed up to speak about the issue, with many arguing it is inhumane to keep marine mammals in captivity.
The Vancouver Aquarium is in the midst of a $100 million upgrade to its facilities, including larger tanks for whales and dolphins. The aquarium says keeping whales and dolphins is necessary for research and education purposes, and that it does not capture marine mammals from the wild.
Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson has publically stated he is in favour of gradually phasing out the aquarium’s cetacean program. In May, animal activist Jane Goodall published a letter stating her opposition to the practice.
The Vancouver Board of Trade is concerned that prohibiting the aquarium from keeping cetaceans would hurt the aquarium’s current operating model, noting that the aquarium currently operates without any government funding.
David Crawford, vice-president of the Vancouver Board of Trade, said a ban would also come with serious economic consequences for the City of Vancouver.
“If the park board is going to change the ability to operate, there’s going to be some serious financial consequences to that including for the City of Vancouver,” Crawford said.
“Should the parks board force limitations on cetaceans, the aquarium is on record that it’s going to seek in excess of $50 million in a lawsuit.”
Crawford will speak at the public meeting, as will a representative from Tourism Vancouver.
Tourism Vancouver is taking a similar position to the Vancouver Board of Trade, said Walt Judas, vice-president of marketing and communications.
The tourism organization is supporting the Vancouver Aquarium’s plan to expand, which has already gone through extensive public consultation, Judas said.
A report released July 22 recommended the park board study the welfare of whales and dolphins in captivity further in order to assess whether keeping the animals is ethical.
The report also said a ban on keeping cetaceans might “compromise the quality” of the aquarium’s research.
